Category Archives: Halloween

This weekend we finally got a chance to take the kids over to Seaworld for the Halloween festivities. We’ve never checked out this event before, so we were all types of excited (Okay maybe even a little more excited than the kids were).

The Halloween Spooktacular is and in park trick or treat experience and celebration, so you can get the family dressed up (I understood that only kids can dress up, so we only did costumes for them) for the party!

They have 3 main highlights: Trick or Treating, Penelope’s Party Zone, and the Sesame Street Countdown to Halloween. We did it all except the last.

Overall it was a great experience. We all had a great time in all.There’s not much in all to comment on other than that so I will amuse you with pictures of the event with the occasional witty comments!

Bam Bam and Pebbles!! We made the kid’s costumes (which was a new feat for us)!!

The Trick or Treat stations are adorned by large jellyfish. The lines are usually pretty long though. We didn’t wait many of them. The ones on the upstairs portion of the stadium where the party zone don’t have many people. Also if you forget to bring your Jack o’lantern for candy they have some bags that you can use to keep your goodies all together.

I also like the fact that they try to show kids that you can have healthy treats too, they passed out mini bananas and peanuts!

The Party Zone. The front had a DJ playing music. They had character meet-n-greets. Some easels with pages to color and tables for families to sit. This was the main part of all the entertainment.

They have a make your own dipped apple station. Which to me was the best thing EVER. You can choose to dip it in white chocolate, regular chocolate, or caramel. Then you take your dipped apple to the topping bar on the side and add whatever you want to it. Very messy, but so much fun!!

What’s Seaworld without some animal friends! This little guy was out so everyone can see and touch him!

We had to visit the penguins (they are my favorite) and even they were in on the festivities!

Also, this flamingo….I think he had his costume on. He sure wasn’t pink like everyone else!!

Well that about wraps it up for this event!
There are two more weekends left for this event so if you have a chance go check it out!

I hope you are excited for this month, because I sure am! It’s one of my favorites! All the fun and amazing weather is upon us.

This is my top 7 list of things you should check out / do this October:

Halloween Horror Nights: It’s a must, I really insist so. If you’ve never been, I am going to insist it even more! I’ve already been a couple of times and you can find my review here. TIP: A large group of friends helps you “feel” safer at least, I can’t guarantee it will work though!

Carve a Pumpkin: Okay, it sounds kind of kid-ish. But if you find yourself with some free time I suggest you run to the store and pick up a pumpkin. There are tons of different patterns you can find online. Check out Zombie Pumpkin and Martha Stewert just to give you a couple of ideas. A Google search can suffice if you are looking for something specific.

Dress Up!: Again, not something that everyone likes to do, or even does. But it can be a lot of fun. I like to do it. Whether you are going to a party or heading downtown for the Halloween weekend you need a good costume. You can throw a couple of things together you have in the back of the closet, go thrift store shopping, or ditch the hassel and just buy your costume.

Horror Movie Marathon: What better to do late at nights than catch horror movies? Do you reach for the classics? Do you like newer movies? Will they make ANOTHER Saw? Or you could even grab a group of friends and do trivia on horror movies. Anyone know what happened on Elm Street?

See Rocky Horror Picture Show in a theater: Speaking of movies, if you’ve never seen this movie run out rent it first. Note: The movie is rated R for a REASON! It is a live interactive performance of the movie. I’ve been a couple of times, and I’ve loved it every time. They do it twice a month every month usually and it is always at the theaters in Universal Citywalk. Also Near Halloween they always do a special show. For calendar and even more details including FAQ check out the Rich Weirdos website.

Epcot International Food & Wine Festival: Always a fall staple. Food and drinks around the world with a couple of friends is NEVER a bad idea! All of the dishes are sample sized, but run less than $6 a plate. The drinks run about $5-$11 bucks depending on sizes. I find the drinking part a little expensive, so I tend to lean towards the food part. They also have a concert series that takes place during the festival with bands like Starship, Boyz II Men, and Hanson all coming out to Epcot. Look out for my reviews coming soon.

Eat your Favorite Candy: Who cares, try every candy till you find a new one that you like! I think this one might go hand in hand with #6. But whether you are craving Sixlets or you haven’t had Razzles since the 80s go ahead and eat it. You can also dig through a younger family members Halloween night stash to try something out. I won’t tell anyone! =P

Hope you get a chance to try out some of these things, I know I will be doing them!

What other things do you guys like to do during the month of October??

This year marks year number 11 that I have been continuing this Halloween tradition. We’ve come a long way from since than, and it always just keeps getting better.

I got the chance to experience opening weekend fun with our Frequent Fear Passes. Of course Florida weather had to intervine and it did BIG! Both nights we had thunderstorms, but only temporarily so the fun resumed after a while. Also, I love to add pictures for you guys, but because of, again, that lovely weather I decided to leave my camera in the car instead of risking water damage.

I did get a chance to do every single house once, and some of them even twice. Although because of the weather when I went through some of the scare zones there were empty, so there are two that I have yet to experience.

All in all I had a pretty good time. I’m not going to say it was the best Halloween Horror Nights ever, because in reality it wasn’t. It does have a few hiccups, but I wouldn’t call the event a disaster either.

So I’m just going to give a quick rundown of what I thought about each house/scare zone/show. I’m going to try to leave out spoilers of any kind to my best ability. The great thing about an event like this is that everyone can see it in a different light, you have to experience it first hand to completely be able to judge it for yourself. I just want to share with you my personal thoughts on the event itself. But I do hope if you are able to, take the time to go out there, even if it is for a night. or two. In all it’s great fun, especially in a group.

Houses

Nevermore: The Madness of Poe

Description: The madness of Edgar Allen Poe’s greatest works has come to life. Step into the mind of the iconic writer, where every turn of the page takes you closer to the brink of insanity.

Review: I have to say this was one of the best houses. I really like the way it was done. I went through it twice opening weekend and both times I got different experiences that were really great.

Rating: 8 /10

The Forsaken

Description: Four ships began Columbus’s fateful voyage, only three became legend. Condemned to a watery grave, the mutinous and cursed crew of that 4th ship has returned with a vengeance. For within the walls of a Spanish fort, a maelstrom has brought from the depths….death itself.

Review: I also ran through this house twice and I’m not going to lie. I thought that this was going to be my favorite house. Ships and sea tales have been done before at HHN, and in my mind they have been very successful. This one…literrally SANK. It had a couple of good scares, and a couple of cool effects, but it wasn’t completely there for me.

Rating: 5/10

H.R. Bloodengutz Presents: Holidays of Horror

Description: Join creature feature host, H.R. Bloodengutz, in his final televised broadcast as he presents a SCARE-athon of holiday-based horror that is guaranteed to cleave you screaming for more.

Review: The comic relief house. I thought it was so-so. I got way more laughs then I did scares. Then again, that is the point of these houses (like if you’re familiar with the Psychoscarapy series). So I am gonna kind of rate it against houses of it’s type since it’s “technically” not supposed to be entirely scary.

Rating: 6 /10The Thing

Description: Paranoia spreads like an epidemic among a group of researchers in an isolated Antarctic outpost as they are infected, one by one, by a horrifying creature from another planet. In a place where there is nothing, they found something.

Review: This one got me. GOOD. It was very different from what I expected really, but I guess I was trying to compare it to The Thing Assimilation house that was done a couple of years ago. All in all, it was a pretty good house in my mind.

Rating: 7/10

Saws N’ Steam: Into the Machine

Description: Spinning blades and massive, crushing pistons await you around every corner as you are forced deeper into the bowels of a mechanical nightmare. Give yourself to “The Machine.”

Review: I didn’t get a whole lot of scares out of this house, but I thought it was pretty damn cool. If you visited the year they did a Saw house, this felt to me very similar to that (and coincidently it is in the same location). It was more of a show house in my opinion. But those chainsaws though, they are a killer…literally.

Rating: 7/10

The In-Between

Description: An ominous portal reveals a 3rd dimension where all is not what it seems: a realm where our world and another collide. Surrounded by fiendish creatures, your eyes will deceive you with every step through this phantasm of terror.

Review: LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! This house was amazing. This is the 3D house that they have been boasting about and let me tell you, I think they did a pretty good job with it. Between the light, the darkness, and the distortion you will have an awesome experience in there. By far my favorite house.

Rating: 9/10

Winter’s Night: The Haunting of Hawthorn Cemetery

Description: As snow falls on this normally serene gothic cemetery, the deceased souls that occupy its confines have their sights set upon you, insuring that the chill you feel up your spine is more than just the cold of night.

Review: This is my second favorite house. Universal knows how to tell a story. No let me rephrase that, Universal knows how to PUT YOU in the middle of a story. I felt like I was outside in a real cemetery, in the winter time (that air conditioning felt amazing on those muggy humid nights HAHA!!) A lot of great scenes in this house, and both times I went through it was entirely different. Loved it!

Rating: 9/10

Nightingales: Blood Prey

Description: Within every war, the Nightingales have appeared. Able to transform themselves to fit any setting, these savage banshees feed on the weak and the helpless. Patrolling WWI era trenches, you discover that you are more than just at war…you’re being hunted.

Review: I kind of got it, but I didn’t like it a whole lot. I only got to go through this house opening night so I’ll have to give it another go. I was expecting something else entirely so I guess in a way that made me disappointed in the end.

Rating: 5/10

Scarezones

Acid Assault

Description: For decades now the city has been degrading from the effects of Acid Rain that still falls today, caused by factories which sprung up on the city’s edges during the 20th century. Those that have lived and survived the blistering decay are all alone in the city. Survivors have stripped the city of all life to sustain their own…dare to enter the ACID ASSAULT.

Review: I’m only going to tell you for sure, check out ALL the buildings in this area. I’m not going to say anything else about that. AMAZING. Also this scare zone did a pretty good job with scares. Just by overlooking the area you couldn’t really pick out exactly everyone who is a scareactor. So in it’s defense it works great for the element of surprise. Overall great job.

Rating: 6/10

Canyon of Dark Souls

Description: Upon entering into the Canyon of Dark Souls, you will feel like a small spec of humanity as the overwhelming sense of death surrounds you. Creatures that dwell within the Canyon are not welcoming so walk slowly as to not disturb them.

Review: Okay, I know I said I was going to avoid spoilers, but if you are anyone thats familiar with the Harry Potter series you will notice that these guys sort of look like Death Eaters. Although I probably would’ve been more intimidated by actual Death Eaters than these guys. I didn’t like it.

Rating: 1/10

Grown Evil

Description: Enter, if you dare, into our garden where Evil grows. Nature has taken this once well manicured sanctuary back from the humans who once kept it. Now the creatures that inhabit the garden are making any human that enters their prey.

Review: This area was so-so. There is lots of fog and it’s very dark, so it is really kind of creepy going through it, and it limits your vision.

Rating: 5 /10

NightMaze

Description: Journey through the ever changing maze of darkness. This all black maze will morph and change as you walk through it. You will not be scared the same way twice.

Review: I really really really really really wish that Universal would just do this as a house. I believe there was something similar to this a long time ago. But this was pretty cool after I went through a couple of times. Each time was different. And it definitely scared the crap out of me!

Rating: 7/10

7

Description: As daylight shines upon our Temptresses, their appearance, though evil, allows you the spectacle of beauty. As night falls, these 7 temptresses will show their true colors and take on their true Fatal Evil forms. Beware of your own temptations.

Review: I think this has become my favorite scarezone. You have to run through it twice though. Once in the beginning of the night, and again near the end of the night. I don’t want to spoil the surprise for you, but there are significant differences between the two times!

Rating: 7/10

Your Luck Has Run Out

Description: Enter if you dare into the lair of the LUCKY! Your choices will determine if you make it out alive. Witness lucks deadly wrath, will she choose you to be her next victim?

Review: The only reason this scare zone got more than Canyon of Dark Souls if because of some other people that are in the zone and NOT Lady Luck. I won’t spoil it for you…but in this case there IS such a thing as too much. You’ll understand.

Rating: 3/10

Shows

Bill & Ted’s Excellent Halloween Adventure

Description: Party on as those two most excellent dudes return to skewer the biggest names in entertainment and pop culture.

Review: Kinda excellent! While not the best Bill & Ted’s. It was better than last years in my opinion. It also kind of got me thinking that this year lacked in the pop culture department. But the one’s that they did get, they did do a pretty good job with. Take the time out to catch a show for sure. You’ll enjoy a couple of good laughs.

Another thing that I also did try was the drink that they change every year to match the theme. This year it’s called the “Ante Up.” It looks very similar to whatever it was called last year, but it tasted very different to me. Actually I really didn’t like it too much. What did it taste like? Imagine cherry Robitussin and a Four Loko had a baby…that, ladies and gents, is the Ante Up. Oh well, I got the blinking red cup to add to my collection!

So that about wraps it up for my review of Halloween Horror Nights 21. Like I said before, I hope you get to go out an enjoy the event for yourself. In all Universal does a great job with this, and I really enjoy it every year.